Pokemon Adventures: Ten Years Later
by PrettySoldierPetite
Summary: After ten long years the Pokedex Holders reunite and in that time a lot has changed for many of them. Though their adventures together might be over a new story is just beginning.
1. Legacy

Evening had fallen in the small town of Pallet but the Ketchum house still buzzed with activity. Delia was throwing a surprise party for Ash while he was briefly visiting with Iris and Cilan to celebrate the seven hundredth day of his journey; a belated twenty months, and had made sure all of his friends were there. Brock had easily been able to take a short break from assisting Nurse Joy on the S.S. Spiral and Misty had convinced her sisters to tend to the Cerulean City Gym after only a little bit of bargaining. May had been continuing her own journey through Johto but had taken the Magnet Train between Goldenrod and Saffron as soon as she had received the invitation. She had also let Max know and had met him in Vermillion Harbor after a short trip from Hoen on the S.S. Tidal while Dawn was making an appearance in Celadon City for a Pokémon Fashion Show her Buneary would be starring in. Barry had also joined as her self-appointed chaperone and body guard and Even Gary, Professor Oak and Tracey had left the lab to join in the party.

"_Kanpai_!" a cheer rose up into the sky as the group of friends raised their glasses in a toast.

"…To seven hundred great adventures!" Tracey finished

"Yeah; to that and the many, many more still to come." Ash added

"It's kind of weird, though, isn't it?" Max noted "I mean, seven hundred days? Why not just wait the full two years?"

May gave her brother a nudge at the slightly snide question but Gary was the one who answered "It's because he's not patient enough to wait another whole month." with a smirk. Everyone in the room chuckled except for Ash.

"Oh, yeah, And just what have you been up to recently?" Ash challenged. He stood up to meet Gary at eye level and the two rivals scowled at each other briefly before Iris chimed in.

"You two are such little kids! A party is a party so you should just have fun and enjoy it!"

"And besides, when else would we all be able to get together like this, right?" Dawn offered, glancing at the rather irritable-looking Barry.

"I don't know but someone is going to get fined if we don't get some food soon, I'm starving!" he ranted, flailing his arms and legs slightly.

It was then another voice called out from the kitchen "Dinner is ready, everybody!" before Cilan emerged holding a large, silver platter along with Brock and Professor Oak who were wheeling in an elaborate cake and Delia, who was holding a photo album

"I found this when I was cleaning with Mimey and thought you might enjoy looking at this while you were eating." She smiled, setting the book down on the coffee table before Ash opened it and they all began marveling at the pictures inside. They showed a fiery young girl with brown hair and blue eyes in a sleeveless shirt that was also blue with a red skirt and white hat with what appeared to be a Pokéball emblem. "These are some old pictures from when I was a Pokémon Trainer." Delia explained.

"The way I remember it, you went by the nickname 'Green' back then, didn't you?"

"Yes, but that was a long time ago. I gave up training Pokémon after I got married and had Ash; he was almost too much of a handful as it was." She commented as Ash turned the page and revealed a picture of him as a toddler, running with only his shirt and undergarments on while his pants were in his hand trailing behind him. "See what I mean?" Everyone except Ash laughed again.

He turned a bright shade of red and quickly turned the page once more, this time to a page with more pictures of him as a very young child with various Pokémon; most of which he had even captured the same species of himself. There was a Poliwrath that Ash was trying to imitate by flexing his arms and puffing out his chest; a Venusaur that was offering him shade with its flower; a Sorelax whose stomach he appeared to be jumping as a makeshift trampoline; an Espeon that was playing tug-of-war with him using its forked tail; an Areodactyl that was soaring in the sky while Ash pointed and even a Pikachu that Ash's took immediate notice of with an inquisitive call, though the one in the picture seemed to have a deep scar on one of its ears.

"But It looks like Ash's love for Pokémon sure hasn't changed much" Tracey beamed as he turned the page yet again to a photo showing a large group of trainers. Dawn was surprised to recognize he own mother who had gone by the name 'Platinum' as a Pokémon Coordinator. Barry immediately pointed out the proximity of his own father to her explaining that he used the nickname 'Pearl' until he became certified as one of the Frontier Brains of Sinoh.

"It must be fate!" he grinned at her, though she wasn't nearly as impressed.

Professor Oak identified his Hoen Field assistant 'Diamond' and another odd-looking trainer called 'Emerald'.

May noticed her parents in the group who had gone by the names 'Ruby' and 'Sapphire' in their youth "but what's with the stocking cap?" she giggled at her father's unusual taste in fashion.

"And is that your other assistant, Crys?" Tracey asked, indicating the girl with usual pigtails and star-shaped, to which Professor Oak nodded. "So then that must be 'Silver' and 'Gold' next to her." He noted the boy with long red hair who glowered at the cheesy pose of boy with gold eyes, a big grin and hair that could only be described as "explosive" standing next to him.

There was also a girl who wore a big straw-hat that hid most of her blonde hair but her age had made her feminine features more pronounced. She had gone by 'Yellow' as well as Gary's father 'Blue' who was adorned in an official uniform from the Verdean City Gym. And there was Delia in a much looser-fitting outfit and a swollen belly indicating that the birth of her son was not far off. She stood close to another boy with black hair, though his hat obscured his face and his right hand was bandaged.

The next picture was the last in the book and showed Delia holding Ash, who couldn't have been more than five years old at this time, along with the same man. His right arm was in his coat pocket in an attempt to hide the bandages, though it was clear that there were more of them and face was still wasn't visible but it was now apparent that the hat he wore was the one that now belonged to Ash.

Ash had become consumed but this picture and stared hard at it. He suddenly saw the silhouette of the mysterious man looking down at him with a smile and heard his own name "_Ash…_"

"_Ash_…" Misty repeated, bringing him back to reality. "Who is that?"

"I... don't remember…" He replied absentmindedly.

Delia snatched up the book and quickly closed it before he could look at it any further. "Well, it's getting late. I think it's time we all got ready for bed, don't you?" she said quickly to change the subject.

"You're right" Professor Oak agreed uneasily "There is plenty of room for everyone at my lab so you all are welcome to stay there for the night."

The group took turns saying their "goodnights" to each other and eventually only Ash and Delia remained in the house. He wanted another look at that picture but she was still holding it shut tight. He thought to himself how he would sneak back down to look for it as soon as he was sure his mother was asleep as he went upstairs to his own room but it was not long before he lost the battle to the sandman and fell asleep.

In his dream he was five years old again and chasing after the man from the picture. The hatted figure stopped his casual pace allowing Ash to catch up. He then turned towards him and squatted down to his level. His face was finally visible now and Ash was shocked to see that the man looked almost exactly like him, but older.

"I already told you that you can't come with me this time, Ash. I don't think I'm going to be able to come back this time so I need you to stay here and be strong for your mom, ok?" he took off his hat and placed in on Ash's head but it was too large and covered his tiny face and the tears that were welling up inside him. "You're the man of the house now, I'm sure you can handle it. Goodbye son."

The small boy finally wailed out loud, crying, which startled himself out of the dream. He kicked off the covered and sat up straight, breathing heavily with real tears in his eyes. "…_Dad_" he thought before lying back down on his side, thankful he hadn't disturbed Pikachu who was sleeping curled up at the foot of his bed. He closed his eyes tightly to stop any more tears; he didn't need to sneak downstairs anymore.

The next morning Brock woke him up and informed him that he had missed breakfast but there were leftovers if he was hungry. "But first, Tracey wanted everyone to meet outside." He said vaguely as he opened the door.

Everyone was sitting in a group with Tracey a short distance away; his pencil and pad in hand. "After I saw that picture last night I wanted to make a sketch of all of us together as our own memento but I couldn't start without you here!"

Brock showed Ash the spot in the middle where he was to sit with Pikachu in his lap before taking his own position off to side, being one of the tallest in the group. Ash was still a little upset by the dream he had but as he look around at his smiling friends and the small yellow mouse, he couldn't feel sad anymore. His dad had told him to be strong and with the help of his friends he had done that and although he did not know exactly where his father had gone his memory would still live on.

"Hold it!" Professor Oak blurted out. "I know you wanted this to be a drawing, Tracey, but I think I might have a better idea." The old man scrambled from the place where he was to stand and shoved Tracey into it before moving off to the side. "Ready Delia?" he signaled.

Ash's mother popped out from behind a nearby tree where she had been hiding with a digital camera poised to shoot. "Ready!" she answered before quickly taking the picture. It was then put in a double frame alone side the original photo and was placed with the photo album on the shelf below the one that held Ash's trophy from the Orange League.


	2. Reunion

Fifteen years. It had been fifteen years since Red had left Pallet Town for the first time but it had been ten since he had last seen many of his friends that Professor Oak had deemed the "Pokédex holders**" **so it was not surprising that a lot had changed for each of them in this time.

In spite of her earning eight Gym Badges and four Frontier Symbols Platina had decided that contests were more suitable for a "lady of her caliber" rather than challenging the Sinnoh Pokémon League and had become a coordinator how took Sinnoh by storm but was now nearing retirement. Consequently, Diamond and Pearl had finally learned her real name through seeing her contests on TV though neither of them had managed to win her affections in the end.

After breaking up his comedy duo with Diamond, Pearl had, instead, become certified as the new Frontier Brain of Sinnoh's Battle Tower like his father and had even taken his name.

Diamond, on the other hand, had shocked everyone by becoming one of Professor Rowan's assistants but after explaining himself it made much more sense. As a research assistant he would likely be spending more of his time in a lab then out in the field and so it would be a way for him to be close to Pokémon without having to be too physically active. One thing that had not changed about him, however were his eating habits and yet his stomach had still, somehow, never caught up to him.

Emerald had been an even bigger shock. It was natural for him to be small as the youngest of the group but even so he had been unusually short for his age but once he turned fourteen he suddenly began growing until he now stood at least a head and shoulders above all the others prompting the joke that he had merely grown all at once. The Battle Frontier in Hoen had shown him a way to battle without having to train his own Pokémon and because of this he others to experience battling the had so he had been able to establish his own Coliseum with smaller Stadiums in Kanto and Johto that featured a system of rental Pokémon provided to him by Crystal and tournaments that each featured a unique set of rules.

Ruby and Sapphire were the first to get married, but this was no surprise to anyone. The bigger shock came when Norman had left him to run the Petalburg Gym which he accepted and, like Pearl, took his father's name. He would still always prefer contests to battling but as a Gym Leader he too could settle down and even Sapphire seemed to have been humbled by marriage.

Crystal seemed to be the busiest juggling her continuing position as one of Professor Oak's assistants working with Professor Elm and helping out at Earl's Pokémon Academy in Violet City but she seemed to be thriving. According to some of her most recent research on the newly established Unova Region there were at least one hundred previously unknown species of Pokémon living here, bringing the total to over six hundred and she and Professor Oak were already discussing establishing a Pokémon Lab somewhere in the area.

Silver had begun working closely with Bill and the other researchers who developed the PC Storage System some time ago on a project he insisted was top secret until five years ago when the first Global Trading Station opened in Sinnoh. For now the global communication was limited to the two large terminals in Sinnoh and Johto but the hope was that they could soon be downsized and that every Pokémon Center in each region would soon have access.

Gold continued working for the old couple who ran the Pokémon Daycare outside of Goldenrod City and thanks to the efforts of all three each region now had its own daycare center with facilities that continued to advance. Because of his skills as a breeder the old man and woman had even agreed to leave their daycare to Gold once they passed away but there was no indication of this happening soon. "The old hag is so stubborn she'll probably outlive us all" he had said but the truth was he too was happy.

Yellow had joined the Pokémon Rangers keeping up with their tradition of protecting wild Pokémon, preserving the environment as well as assisting travelers and trainers in need though she naturally focused her efforts specifically on the Viridian Forest after it's area had decreased considerably in recent years.

Blue remained as the leader of the Viridian City Gym. The doors still remained locked to any challengers he saw as unfitting but this only seemed to make the gym more appealing so there was still a steady stream of challengers. One in particular had apparently blown him away in more ways than one and he now was also married with a child on the way though none of them had seen his wife.

And finally there was Green who had managed to do what Yellow never could by confessing her own affections for Red though none of the others had suspected a thing since Green seemed to flirt with nearly any boy she met in the past.

"Are you sure you're okay with this?" Blue had asked Yellow when the two had married some time before himself.

"Of course I am." Yellow smiled "If Red is happy then I am happy and besides I'm needed with the Rangers, it wouldn't work." She had said. It was the same thing she had told herself more than once and it wasn't entirely a lie.

Now Green and Red were expecting their own child and although Green had had to slow down considerably in recent months the group had agreed to finally meet again at the Trainer House in Viridian City.

"Come on, everybody's waiting" Red said with a smile as he guided the mother-to-be to the house where the others already were. The door opened and Blue poked his head out.

"There you are." He said before he stepped out of the way to hold the door open as the two entered and Red helped Green into the nearest chair.

"Sorry. I knew it was going to take us a bit longer than usual to get here but I had no idea it would take this long." He apologized putting a hand to the back of his head exposing the bandages, the aftermath of a battle that had never quite healed that had now clearly spread from his hand up his arm. "So, uh, what about your wife?" Red looked around but there was nobody here that he didn't recognize.

The brunette let out a small snort "In her condition? Are you kidding? I wasn't about to drag her out just to come to our personal get together."

Red could feel the gaze of multiple pairs of eyes boring into him. "Hey, she wanted to come!" lifting both hands in defense "and besides, it wouldn't be much of a reunion if we weren't all here."

"How far along are you?" Sapphire asked since it was impossible to guess by her size alone

"About thirty weeks, so there's still a little time left."

Gold burst out laughing "Sounds like Red's going to beat Blue again!"

The redhead sitting next to him made an audible sound of annoyance sitting back in his chair uncomfortably.

"What? Still upset it wasn't you?" Gold continued "It's not my fault Green is always going to think of you as her little brother."

Silver gave the breeder's shin a kick then folded his arms again "So what are you going to call the little ba-…err..uh…_bundle_ of joy, anyway? He saved himself with a cough.

The two looked at each other reproachfully "We haven't decided yet." Red sighed "Of course we've talked about it, but every time we do we end up disagreeing."

"But you said it yourself; there is still a little time, right?" Crystal stepped in before they could start arguing over the subject "I'm sure a name will come, the important thing is that it'll be healthy."

"That's right." Green smiled "We just found out it's a boy, so maybe that will help."

Diamond finally spoke up in between bites of a riceball "What about you, Blue? May's only a few weeks behind Green so do you know anything yet?"

"We're having a boy, too" Blue couldn't hide his own smile "But between the Gym challengers and all of the other preparations we haven't had time to discuss names or anything else yet. I was lucky to even get away to come here."

"You're right…" Pearl leaned back tilting his head towards the ceiling thinking about the challengers he faced as a Frontier Brain "It's no wonder we haven't been able to get together like this before now, but what can we do?"

A large sigh came up from the group followed by silence as they all thought. Then Ruby began rummaging in his bag and pulled out a small case containing an expensive looking camera.

"Well, we're all here now and since this does seem to be a special occasion, why don't we at least commemorate it with a photo? We can each even have a copy!" he chimed.

The others agreed instantaneously and began filing outside to stand in front of the house where they arranged themselves for the photo. After a few moments of shuffling around Ruby looked through the eyepiece and began guiding the others with his hand to better fit in the frame.

"…Ok, that's perfect." He said holding up his palm in a signal to stop. He then set the timer and found his own place in the group next to Sapphire just before the flash went off. The others began to follow and peered over his shoulders as he checked the display screen. "Perfect" he said again, approving of the image that had been captured.

"Now about that name…" Green began again

"You're still on that?" Red groaned "Didn't Crystal just say that we'll figure it out when the time comes?"

"So what better time than now? At least with everyone else here we can get another opinion"

The others all took a step back simultaneously and glanced away in feign innocence as Red looked to each of them for some kind of help.

"How about the name Mint, then?" Green suggested

"What? That sounds more like a girl's name. I think Crimson would be better."

"It's too dark! Forest would be much nicer…"

Ruby shook his head incredulously from the sidelines as the two continued. "It's amazing, isn't it?" he said "For all that has changes between us there still some things that never will."

"You're right." Blue folded his arms to rest his face against his palm "They're married now, but they're still acting like they should be rivals. Their baby will have spark, that's for sure."

"That's putting it mildly. With that much spark it'll be a wonder if the kid doesn't burn all of Pallet to ashes!" Pearl laughed to himself

The two stopped their argument and stared back at the group. "…Ash?" they repeated simultaneously and blinked twice then looking back at each other again. A smile spread across both of their faces.

"Ash Ketchum" Red said the name out loud to make sure it sounded the way he had imagined "I like it!" he grinned


	3. The Next Legend

Red's climbing and descending of Mt. Silver had been a regular ritual for years now. His hand had suffered nerve damage during his encounter with the Elite Four and bathing in the mountain's healing hot springs was the only thing that helped. One trip should have been enough but bad timing had forced him to not only rush the healing process but charge into battle immediately after and so he had never fully recovered. The result was that the pain that had started as a severe stiffness in his whole hand had turned into a numbness that was slowly progressing up his arm in spite of regularly visiting the springs, it was only a temporary fix. In fact, this had been his second trip up the mountain in the same month but now he finally back in Pallet Town.

"I'm home!" he announced as he opened the door.

Green walked in from the kitchen. "You missed breakfast again." She sighed before greeting him with a hug.

"Thanks for letting me borrow Blasty again." He said and he removed the pokéball from his belt and handed it back to her. "That reminds me! I had to stop in Viridian City to return Blue's Charizard and I finally got to see Gary."

"Gary?" Green repeated

"Yeah, Blue's son. The poor kind looks just like him, too! It's amazing; even his genes are domineering!"

"Let's just hope that his attitude is a little better" she chuckled "I was hoping that he and Ash could be friends."

"Where is Ash, anyway?"

Green turned her head and smiled "He's out back. The Pokémon made sure he was thoroughly entertained while you were gone."

"I guess he can play with them a little longer, then…" Red took a seat on the couch in the living area then almost instantly his head tilted back and he began to snooze then Green draped a blanket over him and continued into the kitchen.

Outside Ash had been chasing after Vee who kept just out of reach. In his two short years of life he had already become very attached to all of his parents' Pokémon who had all become accustom to his playing. He continued his chase until something else caught the child's attention. A shadow passed by overhead then circled around coming lower and closer with each pass in a swooping motion. After a few moments of watching he smiled at the object.

Inside Green watched from the kitchen window as she washed the dishes but she slowly came to a stop with a plate still in her hands when it had become too quite. She looked around then finally saw the thing in the sky her son had been watching; a large orange bird with wings that reflected all different colors. It was a Pokémon Green remembered all too clearly.

"…_ASH!_" Red heard the shriek that accompanied the breaking of a plate from the next room and instantly sprang up.

Green was the first to reach him after both parents had burst through the door and dropped to her knees to throw her arms around Ash followed immediately by Red who turned his back out using his body to shield the other two from the claws that were now just inches away and the wind caused by the Pokémon halting it's decent.

"Poli, use Hydro Pump!" Red shouted over the sound of gusts and beating wings

The Poliwrath leaned back and fired a powerful jet of water from the center of the spiral pattern on its body at the rainbow Pokémon who shrieked in response before flapping its wings harder to escape then finally fly away.

"Ho-Oh…" Green shuddered "But where did it come from?" she still clinging to her son who looked to both of his parents in turn, not understanding their concern.

Red looked over his shoulder in the direction the Pokémon had fled "Who knows? Pryce was the only one to ever capture it."

"But you, Blue and I freed it and Lugia from his control, remember? We all saw them fly off in different directions."

"Still, it's possible he captured it again for some reason. Whatever the case we should pay Pryce a visit in Mahogany Town." He reached out a hand and helped his wife to stand again.

But unfortunately, Mahogany Town was very far away. Flying had been the quickest way to accomplish this but Green had no Pokémon of her own that could fly over a long distance it had also required the two to borrow Blue's Charizard again. "You're lucky my gym doesn't claim any type specialty or I wouldn't be able to keep doing this." He sighed, only slightly annoyed, leaving the only remaining problem: what to do with Ash? There was no time to try to find a sitter and even with the protection of their other Pokémon leaving him behind was simply not an option and so he would have to come with him but being able to ride on the flame Pokémon's back in his mother's lap was something he did not mind.

Cutting across the base of Mt. Silver would be the quickest way to reach their destination. It took them past New Bark Town in Johto to the rugged route 45 that lead to Blackthorn City then, continuing east, the Ice Path and Route 44 before finally arriving in Mahogany Town where Pryce was Gym Leader.

"Well, this is a surprise" Pryce had greeted them after they had entered the gym "You two certainly are looking well." The old man continued before taking notice of the two-year-old standing next to his father. "And who might this be?"

Ash scooted to the right hiding about half of his body behind Red's legs as Pryce leaned closer in his wheelchair.

"He's my son and he was nearly attacked by Ho-Oh… do you know anything about it?" Red's tone was very serious.

Pryce drew back slightly, genuinely surprised. "Ho-Oh? That Pokémon was released years ago. You two should know that, I haven't seen it or Lugia since and I have no idea where either flew off to. "

"You really don't know?" Green asked warily

"Certainly not. But you say it tried to attack your boy?" Pryce stared at Ash again, directly into his eyes this time but there was no indication of fear in spite of his continued attempt to hide. "Interesting… did you know the children are far more sensitive to danger than we adults?" he turned his focus back up to the parents.

The two glanced at each other with a raised eyebrow then looked back. "What do you mean?" Red was still unsure.

"Green, when you saw Ho-Oh you were scared before it even took you, right? You had to have been or it would not have affected you so profoundly. So tell me, did he cry once during the encounter?"

The brunette shook her head "No, but Ash is used to seeing Pokémon, even fairly large ones. He was actually playing with some of ours when it happened…"

Pryce raised a hand cutting her off "Ah, another good point then; even if he had not been aware of the danger the Pokémon would have surely sensed it and would have come to his aid without a single order."

"But I had to tell Poli to attack…" Red glanced down at the pokéball on his belt "You're trying to say he wasn't in danger?"

"Precisely." He nodded with a smile "Green, I sincerely apologize for what I may have used that Pokémon to do to you in the past but I am now convinced after seeing all of you that it just as easily could have been any of you children, you and Silver just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, and there is a reason I had to use Ho-Oh specifically."

"You needed it's feather to make the GS Ball." Green concluded

"Beyond that." Pryce continued "I used Ho-Oh to seek all of you out because I needed children who could be trained but still had high potential as Pokémon Trainers and only Ho-Oh has the ability to see this, yet it remains elusive. It was never going to attack your son, only observe him and for it to reveal itself to him like this must be a sign that he will grow to be a very strong Trainer. He's very lucky, ust like the two of you."

Both parents looked down at their son who beamed back at them "Lucky!" he repeated

Green was still in awe "Be he won't be able to have his own Pokémon for years."

"Yes, but this still shouldn't be a surprise to either of you. He is your son, after all." Price gave a slight sweeping motion with his hand with another nod.

"I guess we're the ones who owe you an apology for barging in the way we did…" Red scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

The elderly man raised his hand again "Think nothing of it. You were only doing what you thought you had to do to protect your son but I don't think you'll need to worry about him."

Red smiled back and the two said their 'goodbyes' before exiting the gym and preparing for the long flight home. Aero lifted Red with ease and Green would once again use the borrowed Charizard while holding Ash. Pryce had been right about one thing, the fact that he could one day become a very strong trainer was not surprising but the part that still concerned her was that he wouldn't need this strength if there wasn't going to be something that would require him to use it. Just what kind of future would he have she wondered as she looked down at him.

After a few moments he looked back up at her with another smile.


	4. Goodbye

Mornings had never been easy for Ash. In spite of his best intentions of waking up early he couldn't help but stay up late because this was when all of the battles from any current tournaments were shown on TV and if he kept the volume low enough he usually wouldn't get caught if he snuck back downstairs after his mother finally went to bed. Though, somehow, he always seemed to end up in his own bed the next morning even if the last thing he remembered was being in the living room. Last night, however, he had stayed up he had stayed up waiting to see his father who would be returning from one of his regular trips to Mt. Silver.

"Your father is doing some special training with your uncle Gold on the mountain" his mother had explained when he asked why his father would leave.

"Is that why dad's hand is always so cold?" was Ash's follow-up question as he looked at his own hands

Green nodded "Yes, it's very cold on Mt. Silver…"

He sighed, closing and withdrawing his left hand. It seemed strange that only his father's right hand seemed so cold and stiff all the time but Ash decided that from that point on he would try to warm his father with how own body, even making it a point to greet his father every time he returned from Mt. Silver to do so and now awoke to the realization that he had failed last night.

He opened the door of his room and poked his head out into the hall looking both ways but it didn't seem like his parents were up yet, either. Ash made his way down the hall to his parents' room and looked inside, but only his mother was currently sleeping here. A short trip downstairs revealed a blanket covering a familiar lump on the couch. Red had spent the night here not wanting to disturb his wife after coming in so late and the yellow bundle that also slept curled up on the floor next to the couch was surely Pika.

Standing on his tiptoes the four-year-old could just barely see over the back of the couch so he climbed on top of it and sat perched on the backboard for just a moment before he began to wobble and fell right onto Red's stomach.

_HURK!_ Red gasped at the sudden weight that had knocked the wind out of him and opened his eyes to see his son's face. "Oh… hello, Ash…" he gasped again, recovering. The noise had apparently also disturbed mouse Pokémon whose ears twitched twice before it opened its eyes.

"You're back!" Ash grinned "I missed you!"

Red lifted his son and set the boy back down a few inches further away, allowing himself to sit up. "I know you did, but I got home a little later than I thought I would." He gave a quick glace all around suddenly remembering that he had promised to be home for dinner last night "Uh… your mom didn't say anything, did she?"

Ash shook his head "She didn't sound mad, she just started doing things 'hard' after a while."

"Hard?"

"Like this…"he imitated a slamming action by picking up an invisible object to his right, turning slightly, and then setting it down forcefully to the left. "And this…."

Red winced putting a hand to his forehead as his son continued making pushing motions to indicate the slamming of cupboards, drawers and doors. "That doesn't sound good..." he groaned. By this point, Green was used to his normal trips to Mt. Silver and even his being late was nothing new for Red but he also knew that when he promised something like this he would be held to it. Luckily his wife wasn't up yet or his awakening would have been much ruder so he at least had a chance to make it up to her before she could punish him. "Hey, what do you say to helping me make breakfast?" Red suggested "but we have to be _really_ quiet so mommy doesn't hear, okay?"

"Okay!" Ash nodded and held up his fists enthusiastically. He was then lifted a second time by his father and set down again to stand beside the couch and next to Pika who now sat at attention while his father turned and stood as well. Ash grabbed Red's right hand with both of his but a strange sensation made him flinch and nearly let go again. "You're still cold." He said

"Sorry." Red let out a small chuckle "It doesn't bother me, though."

Ash pulled his father's arms as close as he could, wrapped both of his own around it and squeezed tightly. "There, does that feel better?"

He raised his arm and clenched his hand a few times. "Much better! Thank you, Ash!" he smiled but the truth was that he had barely felt the embrace. Red then lead the way to the kitchen holding his son's hand with his left and Pika followed.

The breakfast preparations went as well as Red could have hoped, save for the unusually large mess that had been created in the process. He still didn't know how Green made this look so easy, but Red managed to get this under control as well with a bit of hasty cleaning so she would never know and the food turned out well, which was the real important thing.

Green sighed after being seated in front of an already prepared meal. "I suppose this makes up for last night…" she said "but you know I was worried."

"Sorry… things just took a little longer than usual." Red glanced over at his son acknowledging that Ash was still in the room.

"Ash, why don't you take Pika and go play outside?" Green suggested abruptly.

He gave a halfhearted nod then pushed his empty plate aside, scooted out of his chair and left with the Pikachu close behind thought he didn't quite understand why his parents seemed to get like this whenever they discussed Red's trips up the mountain; to him it sounded exciting. He had even asked if he could go with his father though the answer was always a resounding 'no' from both parents but to him this just meant he had to keep asking.

"…So you're getting worse, then?" Green sighed again once their son was safely out of earshot.

Red sighed back putting his elbows on the table and hiding his face in his hands. "I tried ignoring it at first, but I don't think I can anymore if it's that obvious to you." He said "It's been this way for a while now. I thought it was just my imagination at first but I got so desperate I even talked to Yellow, but of course she can't heal people. All she could do was tell me that the damaged nerves strain the ones around it that are trying to reestablish a connection until they shut down too."

"But isn't that why you started going back to the springs in the first place?"

"Yes, but that damage was already irreversible as soon as I started freezing up again; all I really did was buy myself time." He continued "Yellow says that if this progression continues my entire nervous system nervous system will eventually shut down...and… at the rate it's going I only have a few months left…"

If Green hadn't already been sitting down she would have needed to with this weight. She was silent for a moment and clenched her fist near her chest as she tried to process this new information until she finally decided which of the hundreds of questions to ask. "Then what can we do?"

Red shook his head "This isn't your problem, it's mine. I've already decided that I'm going to climb the mountain one more time and spend whatever time I have left there. It won't be much, but it's the only chance I have to live even a bit longer but there is no way I could take you with me so tonight will be my last night here and I'll leave in the morning; that way I can at least spend the day with you and Ash"

"But what am I supposed to tell him?" She made a sweeping motion with an arm towards the window and outside where there son was.

He finally looked up and followed where Green had indicated. "_Don't_ tell him." He said "It will be hard at first no matter what you say but the less he knows the easier it will be to move on as long as he still has you to…"

A tiny sound caused him to stop. Green's initial disbelief had worn off and she had finally broken down to begin crying. "How can be so calm about this?"

Red stood up and walked over. He then helped her to stand as well and put a hand on either of her shoulders. "The truth is I don't think I've ever been more scared so don't make this harder than it already is." He said, looking directly at her; he was actually smiling a little. "Besides, you know as well as I do that there were plenty of times I could have easily died before now so I'm actually lucky to have made it this far, just like I was lucky to have met all of the others and even luckier to have had you."

He finished by pulling her into a hug and held her while she sobbed into his shoulder. She looked up at him when he loosened his grip after a moment.

"Come on, I'm sure Ash is wondering what we're doing and I wanted us to spend this time as a family." Red turned and made his way to the door not even realizing Green hadn't followed until he had nearly pulled the door open.

Green slowly walked over to him and took his left hand away from the doorknob into both of her own and placing six small spherical objects into it. "Since I can't go with you I want you to take my Pokémon with you. I know it's against regulation, but I doubt you'll run into any league officials out there and you'll need every bit of help you can get." She wiped the tears from her eyes and tried to smile back at him. "And besides, it's not like I really need them for battling anymore."

He returned her smile with a nod a quickly fastened each Pokéball to his belt in a second row below the first. "I promise I'll take good care of all of them for as long as I can." Red assured her.

Borrowing her or even Blue's Pokémon for his trips to Mt. Silver was nothing new but normally they would make an exchange so that he would still only be carrying the maximum of six Pokémon though now she had simply handed them to him and at the same time they would not be coming back in the same way as Red. When he would pass all of the Pokémon would be released, including Green's that were now in his possession. This would put an informal end to her career as a Pokémon Trainer but she had said that that particular chapter of her life had closed as soon as she had become a mother and it would be a small price to pay if she could somehow still help him without being able to be with him.

Ash turned his head at the sound of the opening and watched as his parents walked out together. He gave them a wave before approaching with Pika close behind. "Does this mean you're done talking?" he asked hopefully.

"That's right!" Red crouched down to his level "Mom was just a little upset that I have to leave again already tomorrow, but because I have to leave again so soon I decided that the three of us are going to spend the whole day together."

Pika let out a huffy squeak that seemed to imply It had taken offense and folded it's arms disapprovingly.

"Sorry, I mean the four of us." He corrected himself before feeling the other eleven Pokéballs that were on his beginning to rattle. "…uh, make that fifteen of us…" He hadn't thought of it before, but even this wasn't his entire extended family counting his other friends who lived in other regions and their Pokémon. It was almost a good thing he didn't have time to tell all of them or he might not be able to bring himself to leave; it was hard enough that in addition to Green both Blue and Yellow also knew he would be gone. At least his son wouldn't have to know what would become of him, but Ash still hadn't been able to meet any of the other besides Blue and his son. He had wanted to introduce his boy to all of them once he was old enough to start traveling with his own Pokémon but maybe Ash could still do this without him…

All too quickly they day of carefree playing had come to an end, but it had been a day well spent. Green prepared picnic lunch for the family that had been enjoyed near the edge of Route 21 and Red was able to share stories of his trip to Mt. Silver, as per Ash's request. It had provided the four-year-old with another chance to ask if he could join his father when he left the next morning but the answer remained 'no'. At least he had been able to live vicariously this way and he had also had the chance to play will all of his parents Pokémon at once which was rare since six were almost always away with Red even if they were rotated; even more rare was the family dinner at the end of the day that also meant Red had kept his previous promise in the end after all. After dinner Red was the one to put Ash to bed before joining Green in their own bed; both things he hadn't been able to do in what felt like a long time.

Red awoke early the next morning as intended, but the truth was he had hardly slept at all. There was no need to disturb Green since she already knew he would be gone so he took the utmost care not to wake her as he left the room and made his way into his son's . He had meant to only watch Ash a moment longer but couldn't resist stroking the tiny face before leaving the house and continuing towards Route1.

A cold sensation on his face interrupted Ash's sleep but when he opened his eyes there was nothing there except for the light filtering through the curtain that told him it was at least morning. When he looked out of his bedroom window he could see his father as he crossed the boundary that separated Pallet Town and Route 1 and immediately rushed out the door. Normally his dad had already left by the time he woke up If he hurried he could catch up with Red and try one last time to convince him to take him along; if nothing else he could at least say 'goodbye'. "Dad!" he called out when he had nearly caught up.

Red stopped and turned. "Ash, what are you doing out here?"

"I want to come with you!" he grinned "I know I don't have my own Pokémon yet but I'm not scared because you'll be there and I promise I won't get in the way."

He sighed once again squatting down to his son's level "I already told you that you can't come with me this time, Ash. I don't think I'm going to be able to come back this time so I need you to stay here and be strong for your mom, ok?"

Red took off his hat and placed in on Ash's head but it was too large and covered his entire face but he didn't understand. "…_He's not coming back?"_

"You're the man of the house now, I'm sure you can handle it. Goodbye son."

Ash wanted nothing more than to chase after his father as he turned and began walking away but his legs wouldn't move; it didn't seem real. He finally did the one thing he thought he could and began crying out loud.

Green awake a few hours later to an empty house. She had expected Red to be gone but grew concerned when her son was nowhere to be seen. Even after leaving the house and asking everyone she knew in Pallet Town there was no sign of him. The only other thing she could think of was to call Blue but he hadn't seen Ash either though he agreed to see search for him Viridian City and Route 22 while she would continue hear search in Pallet Town and Route 1.

After overhearing the commotion even Gary joined his father in the searching Viridian City. He and Ash weren't exactly the best of friends but he was the only one in the area that was his age so he was the only human option for a playmate. In his search he had wandered only just out of Blue's sight where he found Ash sitting near a small pond just outside of the city; the exact same place where Red had left him except he was now sitting with his knees pulled up to his chest and he had managed to stop crying.

"So here you are" Gary folded his arm "What are you doing out here anyway? You sure look pathetic…"

Ordinarily even just seeing Gary would have been enough to get Ash fired up, especially after saying something like this, but he didn't even look at him this time. "My dad is gone… he said he's not coming back…"

"Well sitting here isn't going to bring him back and everybody's looking for you. You should just go home already instead of feeling sorry for yourself."

Ash stood up and whirled around having finally had enough. "OH, WHAT DO YOU KNOW?!" he closed his eyes and swung a fist at Gary but instead struck a much firmer surface than anticipated. When he opened his eyes Blue was now standing between him and Gary with his palm out; the only thing he had needed to stop the punch. "I'm sorry…" he took a step back, shaking after realizing who he had really hit.

Blue didn't punish but instead pulled him into a hug. "Do you feel better now?"

He buried his face in Blue's shoulder and began to cry again. "Why…Why isn't he coming back?"

"He didn't want you to worry about him; you might not understand it now, but you will someday." Blue gave him a small smile and pointed at the hat Ash was clutching "And besides, it looks like you've still got a little piece of him with you so he won't ever be gone completely as long as you have that so you had better take good care of it."

Ash finally managed to smile again putting his father's hat back on his head, it still smelled like Red.

"Come on, I'll take you home. You're mom has been really worried." Blue held out his hand.

"Oh…" Ash took his hand and Blue began to lead him with Gary's hand in the other. "_That's right…_" he had almost completely forgotten what his dad had said about his mom. She was probably even sadder than he was right now but at least the two of them would be together soon. He took one last look behind him at Route 22 with Mt. Silver in the distance. He was now more sure than ever that he wanted to climb that mountain one day to find out what had happened to his dad but he would have to become a lot stronger first.


	5. Mt Silver

Ash's decision to become a great Pokémon trainer had been made and although the exact reasons would fade into memory the desire to become strong had not. And so, six years later he would go on his own journey. Along the way he would find himself battling against the same organization his father had but he would also make many friends as well as having many fateful encounters, all the while fulfilling his dream to follow in his father's footsteps without even knowing it. Now, with the party that had celebrated nearly two years of Ash's journey coming to a close he had proof of his own success in the form of a photo just like the Pokédex Holders had before him and, after putting his picture alongside theirs, a renewed purpose to continue.

"We will be heading for Vermilion Harbor soon. There will be a boat that can take us to Castelia City in just a couple of days" Ash announced to the others.

"And from there we can continue to Nimbasa City for your fourth Unova gym battle" Cilan interjected.

Misty sighed holding onto her left arm with her right hand "Then I guess this is goodbye again… I have to go back to the Cerulean City and Brock has to go back to Pewter City."

"She's right" Brock added "But good luck on the rest of your journey."

"Thank you. And I promise, you'll both be the first to know the next time I come back to Kanto." He said with Pikachu adding its own squeals in affirmation.

The two reciprocated Ash's promise with a nod then turned toward Route 1 to leave with Misty giving a wave over her shoulder.

May was the next to step forward with a hand on her brother's back. "I have to make sure Max gets back home to the Petalburg Gym safely so I'm going to stop and say 'hi' to mom and dad before I go back to Johto for my next contest. I can't wait to tell them about that picture" She gave a little giggle.

"Togekiss and I are going to drop them off at the dock where the S.S. Tidal is waiting before I go back to Celadon City" Dawn chimed in. "But after hearing about May's contests in Johto I think I might go there next once Buneary's fashion show is over so I can train for the next Wallace Cup."

"And as your bodyguard I will personally be joining you through Johto" Barry puffed out his chest stood up straighter.

The coordinator sighed as she removed a Pokeball from her bag. "We'll see…" she then tossed it in the air, releasing the jubilee Pokémon. It flew around in a large circle before landing in front of the group and Dawn climbed onto its back with Barry, May and Max following.

"See ya!" Max called out before Togekiss began flapping its wings and took to the sky.

Ash waved at the group, turning as they flew by but his shoulders slumped as soon as the four had disappeared from sight. He always hated saying goodbye to his friends like this but at least Iris and Cilan would still be with him and Pikachu.

An unfamiliar voice came up from behind that asked "Oh, what is all this?"

Ash and the rest of the shrinking group all turned to see a still young woman with dark hair, light blue eyes who was wearing a lab coat approaching.

"Hello, Crystal" Professor Oak greeted "If I had known you were going to be coming back already you could have joined in on our little party, but I'm glad you're here. Ash, before you go I'd like you to meet my first lab assistant."

Crystal smiled at him "It's nice to finally see you again. You might not remember, but the last time I saw you was when you were just a baby so I wanted to meet you when Professor Oak gave you your first Pokémon but you were so late that I didn't get a chance to" she said offering him her hand.

Ash reached up to shake it a little unsurely. It wasn't until he caught a glimpse of her star earrings that he remembered the photo again. "Ah! You were in that picture!" he blurted out.

"That's right" Delia nodded. "Crystal is my friend from Johto who now works with Professor Oak."

"She's a Capture Specialist" Garry explained. "Any of the Pokémon you see in the lab that belong to trainers who don't use the storage system were caught by Crystal. It's because of trainers like her that Tracey, Grandpa and I are still able to have plenty of Pokémon to use for research so the Pokédex can be updated even when trainers like you get sidetracked" he sneered, emphasizing Ash's apparent lack of focus. "She's also the only one to have ever completed the Pokédex."

"That's amazing! You mean you've really captured every kind of Pokémon there is?" Iris asked in awe with her tusk Pokémon adding its own screech in surprise.

Crystal tiled her head modestly. "Well… regionally" she admitted "Between Kanto and Johto I was able to get data on every Pokémon though I've never actually been able to capture a legendary Pokémon. Some of that data came from my friends and I was already working for Professor Oak before I could fully explore Hoenn, Sinoh or Unova. That information is all transferred to us from the other Professors who get their research the same way and by working together we've been able to make the Pokédex a very powerful tool."

"So that's how it works…" Ash pulled the black device from his pocket to look at it. Throughout his journeys his own Pokédex had been upgraded few times but he had never thought about how the upgrades had come to be. It was amazing to think that something so small could contain so much information and that he might have even helped contribute to some of it.

"We're always finding new information to add" Tracy continued for her. "For example; we're only just now beginning to notice Pokémon that have previously had a different trainer from being traded or released develop differently from the ones that stay with the same trainer."

"It sounds like a very complex recipe" Cilan noted.

"Then that just means I'll have to work even harder to meet even more new Pokémon when I get back to Unova so you can do even more research!"

The capture specialist smiled at him again with a small giggle. "I'm glad to hear you feel that way, Ash, and it sounds like you're already on the right path. I'll be looking forward to see what else you find" sh said.

After saying his own goodbyes to her, Gary, Professor Oak and Tracey, as well as getting a big hug from his mother, he was on his way along with Cilan, Iris and the two Pokémon. As the approached Route 1 Ash began to tell Iris and Cilan the story of when he and Pikachu had been attacked by a flock of Spearow here when he had first started his journey but he stopped as they entered Viridian City; something was tugging at him. To the left of him was Route 22 and beyond that was Mt. Silver.

"Just like a kid…" Iris shrugged with a sigh at the thought of him attempting to face so many Pokémon on his own. "So what happed after you finally made it to Viridian City, Ash? …Ash?"

He gave a slight start as he was brought back to reality. "Uh, Sorry… then Team Rocket tried to attack the Pokémon Center but luckily Pikachu was healed just in time and we were able to beat them with some help from some of the other Pokémon there…"

The connoisseur tilted his head knowingly "It sounds like you might have something else on you mind" said said.

"Yeah… we still have a few days before we need to be in Vermillion City to go back to Unova, right?" he began to ask with Pikachu showing its own surprise at the sudden question.

"Sure, Ash, the Royal Unova won't arrive in Vermillion Harbor for at least five more days. Did you want to stay in Pallet Town for a little longer before going back?" Cilan offered.

Ash shook his head. "No, it's not that, it's just that coming back here reminded me that I wanted to climb Mt. Silver. My dad used to talk about it a lot but I was always too young to go with him" he explained.

"You've never mentioned your dad before" Iris pondered tilting her head upward and putting a finger to her face.

"He left when I was still really young, but I know Mt. Silver is where he was going. If he's still staying on the mountain somewhere I'd really like to see him again."

"Then we will be more than happy to go along with you" Cilan responded without a question.

"Yeah!" Iris joined in "After such a long time I'm sure you can't wait to tell your dad all about your journey" she smiled as the two Pokémon chattered excitedly to show their own enthusiasm.

He turned to each of them with growing determination "Then let's go… to Mt Silver!" Ash said before setting his sights back on the mountain.

Route 22 was short, leading to a gate that separated it from the Indigo Plateau to the north and Route 28 at the foot of the mountain. Previously, this had been the location of Silver Town during the Silver Conference but in between tournaments the town was vacant except for the rest house that served as a Pokémon Center during the competition. Slowly, the path became more steep and jagged until finally snow began to fall. It started as only a slight nuisance but, much like the terrain, it too became more intense making it increasingly difficult to see.

"Is it really possible for someone to be living in a place like this?!" Iris had to shout over the wind as she used her arms and long sleeves to shield her face. Axew had burrowed into her hair and was using it for protection.

"Weather conditions can change very quickly on mountains!" Cilan shouted in a similar fashion. "This storm should die down soon, but for now we should regroup and try to find shelter to wait it out! With the visibility this low it would be very easy to get lost or worse, so stay close until we can get out of the storm!"

Iris took heed and held Axew close as she pushed forward to make sure she didn't lose track of Cilan, all the while continuing to guard her face with her remain free arm. But Ash hadn't heard a word or Cilan's warning. When the connoisseur looked ahead to check on him he was still some distance ahead and getting further. He tried calling out again but the wind continued to drown out his voice until Ash slowly slipped out of sight.

"This is bad…" Cilan winced.

It took some time before Ash noticed that Cilan and Iris were no longer behind him and by the time he finally turned his head they too were already completely out of sight. "The storm must be worse than I thought…" he mused. Pikachu poked its head out of the fold of his vest to assess the situation for itself and voiced equal concern. "They shouldn't be too far behind. All we have to do is head back the same way we came and we'll be able to see them in no time" he assured the Pokémon, squeezing it tighter before starting. Without noticing, his steps began slowly drifting farther from the base of the mountain until he was walking on the very edge of what was a steep ledge and with one final step, the ground gave way and the two fell.

Ash's back slammed onto ground after a shorter drop than expected but the impact had still been enough to jar his head as well as Pikachu who landed a few feet away. When he opened his eyes several minutes later the mouse Pokémon was standing next to his head at full attention and the boy had to right himself before he saw what it already had. Standing before them was a roundish yellow figure with tall, pointed ears and a jagged tail resembling a lightning bolt: It was another Pikachu. It was comparably larger than Ash's with shaper eyes and just by looking at it he could tell it was a much higher level but there was something else; a black band around its ear with a gemlike stone on it that somehow seemed uncomfortable.

Ash reached out his hand to examine it closer but the other Pikachu's cheeks began to spark in warning. "Uh…" he stammered, quickly retracting his hand without touching the unusual device. He then watched as the strange Pikachu began to leave but stopped and looked back, waiting for them to follow. He turned his head back towards his own Pikachu who also seemed rather unsure. By now there was no way to tell how far Iris and Cilan had gotten so he would have no choice but to wait out the rest of the storm before trying to finds them and this Pikachu might at least be able to show him a shelter where they could wait so he picked up his own Pikachu and followed the other.

It lead them to the opposite side of the mountain that faced Johto where it located a cave hidden deep in the base of the mountain. Even in more favorable weather it would have been difficult to see but in the current storm it would have been impossible without knowing exactly where to look which made it a good shelter, but unfortunately not a very good place to be found. Hopefully Iris and Cilan had found their own shelter and weren't still out looking for him.

"Wow…" Ash gaped glancing up and all around the cave's entrance once inside before returning his gaze back to the larger Pikachu and crouching down to pat it's head and thank it. After getting a better look at the other Pikachu he realized there was something familiar about it though his own still seemed intimidated by it.

The Pokémon tolerated his touch this time as Ash had taken special care to avoid the banded ear, but it seemed apathetic about his gratitude. Its ears suddenly perked up and it turned towards the sound of approaching footsteps that were followed by an adult human figure that was accompanied by eleven others that appeared to all be Pokémon. The voice that came next made Ash's heart stop.

"Well, it looks like Pika wasn't the only one who got caught out in the storm…" it said.

Ash stared as the person who it belonged to finally came into view. It was a man wearing a red blouse with dark hair and brown eyes that were just like his. "…Dad?" the world slipped out before he could even think about it.


	6. Deception

On the other side of the mountain Iris and Cilan had begun to seek their own shelter while still keeping an eye out for Ash and Pikachu but had no luck in either until a sharp grinding noise began to rise over the sound of the wind. It became louder and louder as the two continued until the source came into view; a massive Pokémon that at first glance could have almost passed as a part of the mountain with its rough hide were it not for the armored horn on its forehead and snout as well as the club-like tail that stuck out. Alongside it were two slightly older males; one was carrying a pool cue and had spiky black hair and golden eyes, wearing a green bandana with a Pokéball emblem on his head with a matching apron over a red hooded sweater while the other had shoulder-length red hair and cold, silver eyes wearing mostly black clothes and gloves. Of the two he seemed to be the one who had issued the command for the Rhyperior to burrow into the side of the mountain with Dig.

The black-haired man looked up as he took notice of Iris and Cilan, alerting the red-haired one with a nudge. "Looks like we're not the only ones out here", he said.

The redhead stared and Iris and Cilan for a moment before looking back to his partner. "We can take care of the formalities later!" he barked before returning his focus to the other two, "Do either of you have a Pokémon that knows Dig? There aren't any caves or trees in this area so the only way we're find shelter is to build it ourselves."

Both followed and presented their Pokéballs.

"…Excadrill!"

"…Pansage! Assistance, please!"

The Grass Monkey and Subterrene Pokémon emerged simultaneously and were then instructed to aid the Rhyperior with Dig. On its own the move was capable of producing holes and tunnels that were only big enough for a single human to potentially use but the combined effort quickly produced a small manmade cave that could shelter all four trainers.

Iris thanked Excadrill before calling it back to its Pokéball then looked around once inside the structure with a smile. "So that's why you were digging into the mountain," she said.

Cilan and the redhead followed her lead and returned their Pokémon while the breeder released his Typhlosion who ignited its fiery mane to provide light and heat for the group.

Once satisfied with their temporary shelter Silver turned towards the two younger trainers. "Hudging from your Pokémon you're clearly not from around here", he nodded in the direction of Axew who had once again poked its head out from Iris' hair. "So what are two trainers from Unova doing all the way in Kanto?"

"We came here with our friend from Pallet Town but we got separated in the storm", Cilan explained.

The two older men looked at each other before Gold answered. "We're actually here looking for someone too," he said. "We'll help you find your friend but once we do it would probably be best if you all turned back. The man we're looking for is a high-ranking member in an organization of Pokémon thieves."

"A group of Pokémon thieves? That sounds familiar…" Iris looked towards Cilan who also seemed intrigued.

"By any chance, would this man happen to be part of Team Rocket?" He finished the thought for her.

This made Gold furrow his brow, "So you've heard of them?"

"You could say that… but they didn't seem very strong to me," Iris folded her arms recalling their previous encounters with a particular duo.

"Grunts, no doubt," Silver shook his head. "The man we're looking for is an executive named Petrel who is in a whole different class. He's pursued legendary Pokémon with near success and he's managed to stay in his boss' favor by turning on his own teammate and passing the blame when he failed."

Cilan gave an understanding nod, "I can see why someone like that would be dangerous."

"When found out he was coming here we thought he might be targeting a group of exceptionally strong Pokémon that live here on the mountain but tracking him hasn't been easy, " Gold continued. "He's also a master of disguise so you can see why you took us by a bit of surprise. We weren't sure who exactly we'd run into out here and we certainly weren't expecting two people but if Petrel somehow manages to somehow capture the Pokémon here it would mean a lot more power for Team Rocket."

Suddenly the idea of finding Ash and leaving Mt. Silver as soon as possible was sounding better and better to Iris but they would still need to find him first. She turned her head to look back outside where the snow was only now just beginning to subside which meant they would still have to wait before they could even begin to search for him. Hopefully he hadn't run into any kind of trouble.

Meanwhile, Ash had wasted no time in approaching the man in front of him and again without thinking grabbed his arm and embraced it; a habit he had developed as a child for greeting Red that was intended to help warm him.

Pikachu had tried to follow its' trainer but Ash hadn't even noticed when Pika immediately blocked its path.

The man reciprocated by taking his free arm to embrace Ash's whole body. "You're Ash, aren't you? It's been a long time, but I've heard a lot about you," he said.

"Your arm…its better," Ash loosened his grip slightly. Somehow this had felt a lot different than what he remembered but maybe he just wasn't used to his own height compared to dads now. The last time he had hugged him like this Ash's head could barely reach the level of Red's elbow and now his head could easily rest on Red's shoulder but he still hadn't expected it to feel this different.

Red smiled at him. "Yes… that's right," he seemed to assure him. "Thanks to the mountains hot springs I was able to finally heal completely."

"Does that mean you'll be able to come home soon?"

"Not quite yet," he patted the back the boy's head. "There's… still a bit of training I'd like to do here on the mountain."

"Oh…" Ash sighed with a slump of his shoulders. Looking down he finally noticed that Red was wearing the same black band that Pika had been and when he glanced up he noticed the eleven other Pokémon that were with him also all wore them though there was no doubt in his mind these were the exact same Pokémon he remembered playing with when he was younger. "Dad, what are these?" he finally asked holding Red's wrist out.

Red held it up even higher to give his son an even clearer view. "It's a Training Brace," he explained. "Wearing this allows me to communicate with my Pokémon more clearly so that I don't even need to speak to give a command."

He continued to stare at the band with a sound of mild awe. Ash had heard of similar bands used to enhancing a specific skill in a Pokémon but never one quite like this though he could clearly see how being able to communicate without words would be helpful in an place like this and he could only imagine what it would be like in battle.

"Since you've come all this way, why don't you stay here with for a while?" Red asked as he took up his son's hand and placed another band on his wrist.

Ash's whole body flinched once the band had clamped shut. He had been acting on impulse but now all reason seemed to fade, his entire mind had gone blank. Wasn't there somewhere else he had been going and weren't there other people here who he should be looking for first? He couldn't remember but his mouth seemed to know by automatically answering, "Yes."

"Then why don't we start by showing me what you can do with your father's Pokémon by getting rid of that little pipsqueak?" Red gave a piercing glace at Ash's Pikachu who responded by raising its ears in concern and taking a half step back.

He turned his head following his father's glance looking at both of the Mouse Pokémon through clouded eyes. Ash briefly struggled with the thought of attacking the smaller Pikachu before his mouth seemed to move on its own again, "Pika… use Toxic…"

Pikachu cried out in alarm and began to turn but Pika was faster, whipping around and jabbing it with the end of its jagged tail in midair which sent it sailing through the air and out of the cave before hitting the ground.

"So they really do respond to you better…" Red marveled at the attacks' strength. "That means you really are his son," he glanced back at Ash with a crooked grin. "Wait until Giovanni sees what I've found."

Outside, the snow had finally subsided allowing Iris and Cilan to begin searching for Ash with help of Gold and Silver. After deciding the best way to cover a larger area would be to use Fly the group had taken to the sky; an option that hadn't been possible for Iris and Cilan before riding along with Gold on his Togekiss with Silver and his Honchkrow closely following.

"So your friend actually came all the way out here looking for his dad, huh?" Gold smiled after Iris had begun to tell him more about Ash. "Well, there is only one person I know of who used to come here like that and your friend actually sounds a lot like him."

"Used to?" Cilan repeated

Gold nodded solemnly, "Unfortunately, Red isn't with us anymore so once we find Ash you three should probably head back to Unova." he continued, "As much as I'd like to see the kid again I'd hate for you to get involved with Petrel."

"Hold on! I think I see something!" Iris pointed towards the ground at a small yellow mound that was not yet completely covered by a thin layer of snow. After landing she immediately rushed over and picked up the round object revealing it to be Ash's Pikachu, badly poisoned. She continued holding it as Clian quickly healed it with an Antidote.

Once the Mouse Pokémon had recovered Iris tried asking it what had happened and where Ash was but it only hug its ears at this and answered with a sad sound as Axew put a paw on Pikachu's shoulder with a sympathetic murmur.

"Something bad must have happened; Ash would never leave Pikachu like this…" Cilan mused.

"There aren't too many Pokémon that come this far up the mountain that could inflict poisoning like this either," Silver added. "Mostly Golbat but Pikachu should have the advantage over them."

Gold nodded, "It sounds like this might be serious. Let's get going, Togebo!" He looked over his shoulder and called out to the Togekiss who looked up intently and watched as Gold climbed up onto its back again followed by Cilan and Iris witch Pikachu and Axew on either of her shoulders while Silver was not far behind being carried by his Honchkrow .


	7. Rescue

Searching for Ash was proving to be more difficult than the others had hoped. Pikachu had only been able to indicate that Ash had evidently continued back in the direct of Kanto but the leftover wind from the storm had still been steady enough to erase any sign of footprints he would have left.

"I thought for sure we'd have seen him by now…" Cilan pondered taking another look to each side. "He couldn't have gotten too far with the storm and he should know by now that the best thing to do when you're lost is to stay where you are."

"Then maybe this is a good thing. If he headed back towards Kanto he might have just tried to get back to his home when he couldn't find us," Iris suggested optimistically as the others continued to scan the ground for any sign of the missing boy but Pikachu let out a disaffirming sound shook its head at this idea. "…except that still wouldn't explain why he left you behind, would it?"

Gold suddenly sat up straighter when something in the distance had caught his eye after he had glanced up momentarily. "Hey, does Ash have any Pokémon that can fly?"

Both Iris and Cilan were momentarily puzzled by the question before they too saw the object and connoisseur spoke up to answer. "He does have Tranquill, but I've never seen it actually carry him before…"

The breeder leaned forward signaling the Togekiss to increase its speed and move in closer with Silver following his lead.

The grey object in the distance came into view revealing an Aerodactyl carrying two passengers. Iris and Cilan immediately recognized the one who sat in front as Ash but were clueless as to who the older man sitting behind him was. To them he looked very much like an older Ash but Gold and Silver seemed to know very much who the man was.

"…Pursuit!" Silver called out before either Iris or Cilan could ask questions. The Big Boss Pokémon dove forward and struck the Aerodactyl's wing with its beak, faltering its flight. The Trader then managed to quickly grab Ash leaving the Fossil Pokémon and its other passenger began to fall into a crash landing in the snow.

"I don't know who you think you're fooling by wearing that face or how you're managing to control Red's Pokémon because you're not Red," Gold challenged as he slid off the Togekiss' back after landing neatly a few feet away.

In the sky, however, Silver was having a harder time. "Hold on! We're trying to help you!" he grunted over the continued protests as Ash struggled against him and Honchkrow. The Big Boss Pokémon still managed to lower its trainer and Ash to the ground.

As soon as he had been able to Ash immediately broke away from the Trader and rushed to rejoin the man he still believed to be Red and helped him stand while Areo also recovered from the fall.

"It seems he disagrees with you," The imposter smiled as Ash helped him to stand.

"Why did you attack us?" Ash asked with a critical stare towards all four of the others.

Both Iris and Cilan were shocked by the reaction. "We weren't attacking you, Ash," Cilan began to explain. "Despite how he may look now, that man is not your father."

Ash hesitated before Petrel spoke up to redirect his attention. "Don't listen," he said. "These four are the ones who damaged my arm, I left because I was afraid they would come after you and your mother but now that you are older you are strong enough to fight them with me."

"I won't let you down," Ash nodded before he raised his banded arm. "…Hyper Beam!"

The Fossil Pokémon reared its head back then whipped it forward firing a massive beam of pure energy from its mouth toward the other four causing them to scatter with Gold and Silver diving to either side along with their Pokémon to avoid the attack. Iris shielded Pikachu and Axew who had still been hanging on her shoulders while Cilan immediately pulled her and the other two Pokémon to the ground with him.

Gold raised his eyebrow incredulously as he corrected himself. "He's the one controlling Red's Pokémon?"

"Ash, what's gotten into you?" Iris added as she continued to hold the two Pokémon closely while she and Cilan also began to sit up. Pikachu voiced its own concern with what sounded like another question but he remained unresponsive.

"Don't bother, he can't hear you. My band gives me complete control over him and with him I am able to control the Pokémon."

"So you were trying to claim Red's Pokémon…" Silver scowled at the fake Red. "But why use him? Your group uses stolen Pokémon on a regular basis, doesn't it?"

Petrel closed his eyes with a slight shrug of his shoulders. "Some of our members do, yes, but for a long time now we've been something strange about the Pokémon that have been successfully stolen. For some reason they didn't seem to exhibit the same strength in battle as before even though it should be no different than a traded Pokémon that becomes stronger when with a different trainer. At first we simply sought stronger trainers and then various methods to artificially enhance the Pokémon's strength. Eventually the only conclusion we could draw is that it must have something to do with the trainers themselves so I thought that perhaps looking like Red would be enough thought I didn't have much success."

"They knew you weren't him," Gold smirked a little at this thought.

The executive sighed, "Unfortunately. However the disguise was still enough to allow me to get close to them and with my braces I was finally able to make them obedient but I still couldn't seem to draw out their full power. In the end I guess a weapon is only as good as the one who wields it and there doesn't seem to be any substitute. I was just about to pay Red's wife a visit before that storm hit but then he showed up to save me the trouble." He put a hand on Ash's shoulder and he smiled slightly at this affirmation.

"Does that mean you knew Ash was Red's son all along?" Cilan asked

"Not right away; it was thanks to two low-ranking grunts I was able to figure it out. They somehow got it in their heads that that Pikachu might be valuable but now I see it's just a joke." He sneered at Ash's Pikachu who was slowly becoming angry. "They would go on and on about how it and 'a boy with a red hat' were always responsible for their failures. If they had any brains between them they would have realized a long time ago that any extraordinary strength that thing has is because it's been responding to him," Petrel indicated Ash with a nod. "I suppose I should be thanking them, though because if it weren't for them I might not have known he existed and I wouldn't have found such a great prize."

The Mouse Pokémon had finally had enough. It let out a quite growl with sparking cheeks then leapt from Iris' shoulder, diving to tackle Petrel and aiming for his wrist but Ash immediately stepped forward before it could make contact.

"I won't let you hurt my dad again! Areo, Dragon Claw!"

Areo swiped at the mouse Pokémon and knocked it back but it quickly recovered and stood its ground, then looking back towards the other for help.

Gold's eyes widened when he caught on to the hint and he quickly pulled out one of his own Pokéballs with a nod. "I think I've got it..." He then placed the red and white sphere on the ground and unsheathed his pool cue quickly lining up his shot and launching the Pokéball. It stopped expertly next to Ash's Pikachu and opened, releasing a different Mouse Pokémon. It was orange in color with yellow cheeks, a longer whip-like tail that ended in a jagged bolt shape that was reminiscent of its previous form. On its head were a pair of Go-goggles and a small tuft of hair that made it look very much like its trainer.

"You wanted backup, right?" the breeder smiled as Pikachu smiled back with a nod of gratitude. "Okay, then… Volt Tackle!"

The two mouse Pokémon charged forward while propelled by their own electric charges and took aim at Aerodactyl, successfully drawing Ash's attention.

"… Block it!"

The Fossil Pokémon closed both of its wings over its body to protect itself but only the Raichu continued in a straight path. It made contact while Pikachu veered left towards Petrel again while Ash was sill focused on Areo as it lurched back. Meanwhile, Pikachu flipped over in front of Petrel and struck the band on his wrist with Iron Tail, breaking it in half and shattering the gem.

Ash reacted with a gasp as his own banded arm fell limp followed by the rest of his body along with Areo who slumped to the ground before returning to its Pokéball. He was then immediately scooped up by Petrel who seethed as he threw another Pokéball to the ground releasing his own Golbat which grabbed onto his shoulders and lifted the two into the air.

"Hold it!" Silver shouted as the Bat Pokémon turned to make its getaway. "Honchkrow, Pursuit!"

The black Pokémon again took to the air a dove after the Golbat and struck it from behind and It managed to hold onto its trainer but Petrel lost his grip on Ash. The big boss Pokémon then continued flapping near Petrel's face, blocking his attempt to retrieve Ash while Gold signaled to his Togekiss and the Jubilee Pokémon caught Ash and brought him safely to the others.

The executive let out a growl in frustration as the Honchkrow finally began to back down. "Don't think this means it's over for that kid. Our organization is already aware of him and once I tell Giovanni exactly who he is and we will track him down again," he huffed again as the Golbat turned again and carried him away.


	8. Epilogue

When Ash woke up a few hours later he could feel he was somewhere warmer than Mt. Silver had been. He could also feel a gentle hand on his forehead stroking his bangs that almost reminded him of his mom but when he opened his eyes there was someone else sitting over him with long, blond hair wearing a yellow vest with Pokémon Ranger emblem on it.

"Well hello, there," she smiled at him.

He sat up quickly and looked around, now embarrassed as well as confused. "Where am I?" he began to ask as Pikachu jumped up into his lap.

"You're at my house in Viridian City," she informed him. "You're friends brought you down here from the mountain to rest after the hard time you had."

As if on cue the door opened allowing Pikachu to rush in and jump up onto its trainer's lap while Cilan, Gold and Iris with Axew perched on her shoulder poked their heads into the room.

"We thought we heard voices…" Cilan explained with a sheepish smile from the middle of the pile.

Gold's face lit up when he noticed Ash. "Hey, you're awake!" he smiled as he opened the door completely and the three entered the room.

"Y-yeah…" Ash nodded awkwardly at the unfamiliar person, though both Iris and Cilan seemed unfazed by his presence.

"Oh, sorry, I guess you wouldn't remember," the breeder scratched the back of his head when Ash's confusion registered. "I'm Gold. I ran into your friends out on the Mountain and they told me why you were out there; your dad was a good friend of mine."

Yellow smiled fondly, "Mine too."

The young boys face brightened slightly at this as he looked at the two and began to recognize them from his mom's photo.

"You were still just a little thing, but I used to babysit for you all the time," Gold continued. "I guess you could say I'm kind of like your uncle since your dad didn't have any brothers or sisters," he went on when suddenly a slightly disgusted sound came from just outside the room causing them all to turn towards the door where a small tuft of red hair was just barely sticking out from the frame. "Oh, and the wet-blanket out there is Silver," the breeder smirked pointing a thumb over his shoulder. "He's kind of like your uncle too, but on your mom's side."

Ash leaned forward to try to get a better look but Silver had already taken a step further to the side after his listening in had been exposed.

"Don't mind him, he kind of had a thing for your mom when we were kids," Gold chuckled. "The two of them were really close so I guess he always thought that they were going to end up together."

"So what happened?" Ash asked still learning forward with a raised eyebrow.

He looked up thoughtfully. "Well, he didn't even think much of it when your parents first got together; I guess he thought maybe he still had a chance," Gold pondered then looked back down at Ash with a grin. "But once you came along, well, that kind of sealed the deal."

The boy blushed slightly again while Iris and Cilan both smiled though Ash couldn't help but feel a little guilty. This sounded like Silver resented him for being born but it wasn't something he could very well apologize for. He wanted to at least say something but before he a chance there was the sound of a door opening and closing as Silver left Yellow's house. He had heard enough and he had done his part.

"Don't worry about it," The breeder assured him with another laugh. "He was worried about you, too and he actually did a lot to help save you back there."

Ash looked up at him in confusion. "…Save?" He repeated. The last thing he remembered was sitting with someone who looked a lot like his dad but something had not felt right. "So that guy back there… he wasn't…"

"I'm afraid not," Cilan sympathetically answered the question so he wouldn't have to finish it while the others all murmured apologetically and the two Pokémon made their own sounds of condolence. "The man you saw was an imposter who wanted to control Red's Pokémon for Team Rocket and he thought he could use you to make them more obedient," he explained.

Ash hung his head and clenched his fist while Pikachu's ears dropped in concern. "Then that means he really is…," he began on the verge of tears until Yellow put her hand over his to offer comfort.

"Red… was injured," she stared to explain.

He nodded with a grunt to show understanding. "I'm starting to think I knew that… But why didn't he tell me?"

"Well, think about it," Gold offered putting an arm around Ash's shoulder. "Even if he had told you that he was hurt would you have just accepted it?"

What kind of question was that? "Of course not, I would have done something to try to help him!" Ash blurted out immediately.

"Exactly," Gold nodded. "Now what would you have done if you had been told that and that there was no way to help him?"

"Oh…" Was all Ash could manage in response with a sulk. Even without being fully aware of the problem he had tried to help his father in his own way and knowing the truth would have only made him try even harder to help though he would have ended up heartbroken all the same, maybe even more so knowing he had made the effort. In the end keeping as quiet as possible about the problem was the only way his dad might have been able to spare his feelings at all even if it meant having to lie a little.

"You're not the only one Red tried to hide his pain from, either," Yellow assured him. "We all knew about his injury but we had no idea how bad it was until almost the end and even then he had never said a word to us about leaving. Blue figured it out after he found you by Route 22 then he and Green told the rest of us afterwards."

The young boy stared up at her for a moment while contemplated this. He hadn't thought about the other people that Red would have had to leave behind besides his mom and himself but after seeing many of his friends through his mom's picture and even getting to meet most of them it was becoming a little clearer why he had left without saying anything; he hadn't wanted to see his pain become their pain. Ash finally let out a sigh.

"Are you going to be okay?" Iris asked cautiously not wanting to upset him again.

Ash nodded. "I think so…but then what happened to all of Dad's Pokémon?"

"Professor Oak released most of the Pokémon he had in storage, but the ones he took with him on the mountain when he left, including your mom's, all stuck together," Gold smiled. "I guess after living with you guys for so long they became kind of like a family too so now they live together on the mountain, protecting each other and the wild Pokémon that live there."

"…Really?" he couldn't help but smile back at this thought. It was almost as though the Pokémon hadn't wanted to forget his dad either.

Yellow nodded in affirmation. "So you see, even if Red isn't with us anymore his spirit is very much still alive in all of them, in us and especially in you from what your mom has told us about your journeys. I'm sure if Red could hear about all that you've done he'd be very proud, too."

"She's right, so no more sulking okay?" Gold gave him a nudge with his elbow. "If you want to make your dad happy just keep doing what you've been doing and continue with your journey so you can keep doing him proud."

Ash looked down at Pikachu who gave him an encouraging squeak then over to Iris and Cilan who also seemed to agree, settling the matter. "Alright, then when we get back to Unova I'm going to work hard to earn my last five badges and do my best in the Unova League."

"And we'll all be sure to cheer you on," The Healer guaranteed him with a kind smile.

"We're going to be busy when we get back, then," Cilan added with a wink. "Don't forget, you also said you wanted to meet more new Pokémon to help with Professor Oak's research so we should get going."

He nodded enthusiastically. "…Yeah!" Ash agreed and the three would soon be on their way again along with the two Pokémon after thanking Gold and Yellow. "Uh, and be sure to tell Silver I said 'thank you', too," Ash added awkwardly as Yellow walked into the foyer holding the hat that now belonged to him and placed it on his head. She then hugged him and wished him good luck one last time.

"Well, I'm sorry you didn't get the chance to see Red again but at least you got to meet some of his friends," Iris said optimistically as the group began to make their way out of Viridian City.

Ash nodded again, but there was still a smile on his face. "Yeah… but I don't think I feel bad anymore," he said. Even though Red was gone he at least knew a bit more about what had happened to him and why he had left him at such a young age. It also felt good knowing that he had the support of his dad's friends along with all of his own; his own extended family that looked a lot like his dad's when he thought about it and, just like Red, he would do his best to keep being strong for all of them. That was what his dad had really wanted.


End file.
